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Steubenville remains a town divided over rape case as convicted player returns to football team

Ma'Lik Richmond

Ma'Lik Richmond's return to the Steubenville High School football team has residents divided about whether he deserves a second chance or if his return continues a dangerous sense of entitlement in a football-crazy town.
(Keith Srakocic, AP file)

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- News that a football player who was found guilty of rape is back on the Steubenville High School football team has given many in the community an unsettled feeling two years after the case first came to light.

A concern repeated several times this week was the message that Ma'Lik Richmond's return to the team sends to other student-athletes, as well as the world beyond the industrial town of 18,000 on the Ohio River.

"I think this encourages that sense of entitlement,'' Amy, a Steubenvlle area mother, said while working at a retail shop. "You can get charged with sexual assault and go right back and play football.''

Several people interviewed by The Plain Dealer declined to give their full names, saying they were concerned about criticism or repercussions they might receive from others in the divided town.

Richmond and former football teammate Trent Mays were found delinquent in juvenile court of rape in March 2013. They were accused of sexually assaulting a West Virginia girl who had passed out after a night of drinking prior to the 2012 football season. Mays remains in juvenile detention.

Richmond, now 18, was sentenced to a minimum of a year in a youth facility. He returned to school in January.

Hayleigh, a student at another area high school, said Steubenville is sending the wrong message by allowing Richmond to wear the "Big Red" uniform.

"It shows they don't care at all about women, they just care about their football team,'' she said. "That's just promoting rape culture. It's just saying, 'That's OK for you to do those things, but you're a good football player and what you did doesn't really matter to us.'"

Steubenville football coach Reno Saccoccia this week told WTOV-TV Channel 9 that Richmond has been back in school since January, after completing his sentence. He said Richardson earned his place on the team.

"It was a horrible crime -- it was a horrible crime,'' Saccoccia said. "Everything the judicial system of Ohio asked him to do, he completed. Everything the school system asked him to do upon his release, he completed both academically and socially.

"I feel that we're not really giving him a second chance. Some may look at it like that. I feel he has earned a second chance. We don't deal in death sentences for juvenile activity, and I just feel that he's earned a second chance.''

Saccoccia did not respond to attempts by The Plain Dealer for comment.

Chris Gregory, who said he is a local web site reporter and video coordinator who covers the team, said Richmond is about 6-2, 220 pounds and has demonstrated tremendous potential as a wide receiver, linebacker and safety.

Steubenville, one of the most storied programs in Ohio high school annals, advanced to the Division IV state semifinals last year with a young team, and is expected to contend for its fourth state championship this fall.

One local mother said while visiting the Steubenville library Wednesday that her primary concern is for Richmond's future.

"As adults and parents, we should uplift these children, push them to be great, instead of being so hateful, racist and a whole lot of other words,'' said Tiffany, who also declined to give her last name. "I personally am happy to see him to push for (the opportunity to play). He could be out on these streets doing wrong, but he chose a different life, to move forward.

"Think about it. He's young. He's black. He already has a lot of disadvantages. But he's strong enough to uphold himself and not be embarrassed. He could have just dropped out of school. Play football? Yes, he should be able to. He should be able to do anything he chooses to do, because he paid for his crime.''

Stephen, a retiree, took offense to the worldwide attention the case focused on Steubenville.

"Everybody deserves a second chance,'' he said. "Are you going to tell me that this don't happen in Cleveland and other towns in Ohio?''

Former St. Ignatius assistant coach Tyrone White said Richmond has been to Cleveland to speak to area high school players about his experience as part of White's anti-violence campaign. White told The Plain Dealer the Steubenville district has not capitalized on the opportunity to take an awful situation and make it into a positive educational example, not only for Steubenville but for schools everywhere.

Ally, a Steubenville area mother, agreed.

"This town don't care,'' she said. "All they care about is the winning football team. This will be one big, ugly mess.''

Ray Roush, a Steubenville fan, said he has long admired how Saccoccia's teams have overachieved. He lamented the impact the case continues to have on the team and the town.

"Big Red is one of the positive things about this town that didn't turn negative,'' he said. "But we'll get over it. This just put a scratch on the Big Red.''

Sipping a coffee at a McDonald's overlooking the team's home field, known as "Death Valley,'' Roush acknowledged the appearance of a football player being treated differently, even if not the case, is what is dividing the community.

"What makes (Richmond) so special that you're going to lean on a kid with bad grades and get rid of him, when somebody who is just a star gets to play,'' he said. "It's not that I'm against him being on the team. But is it applied evenly across the spectrum? That's what they're upset about, and they have a right to be.''

Steubenville opens against Cleveland JFK on Aug. 28 at Reno Saccoccia Field, the 10,000-seat stadium famous for its fire-breathing red horse atop the scoreboard.

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